A New Year
by Kildren
Summary: Elsa, wanting to be alone on the last day of 2014, unexpectedly meets someone. [Modern AU. Not incest. Rated T for implied adult content and swearing]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: _Frozen _belongs to Disney.**

**A/N: Just a little something to contribute to the last day of 2014. This suddenly popped in my head.  
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><p>It was mostly out of boredom that Elsa decided to go to the Northern Mountains. She had declined all her friends request to hang out today on New Year's Eve; partly because she wanted to spend the day alone and partly because she didn't feel like getting wasted again like last year. The woman shuddered at the memory of waking up beside some woman she didn't know, their clothes lying astray on the floor and their bodies sticky with sweat.<p>

Not that she was against one night stands, but that had been the first time she completely blacked out. She vowed to never let it happen again.

Her friends said she was crazy, going to the Northern Mountains alone in the winter. Of course there was a reason that they didn't know about, otherwise why would she actually want to go there at this time of the year? If it were anyone else she would think they were crazy too.

When she was young she had found a secret spot near the cabin her family owned. They had come skiing and Elsa, being a child, had done her fair share of exploring. At first the place was just a haven during bad times but when she was older she found out that it also had a clear view of fireworks from the city, and that was the reason why she was going to the Northern Mountains now.

After parking her car, Elsa grabbed her duffel bag and turned on her flashlight, then set out to her haven. After ten minutes or so she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sound of snow crunching. That could mean many things, but Elsa was certain that someone was here with her.

"Who's there?" she called out, her voice wavering as she silently hoped it wasn't some psycho. Maybe it was a bad idea after all, to come out this late.

The other voice, a voice of a woman's, sounded equally scared as she was. "H-Hello?"

Elsa exhaled in relief. "Where are you? Do you need help?"

The other woman didn't speak, but Elsa heard the snow crunching again. Within minutes she saw the woman stepping into her line of sight, standing at the tip of the light that shone out from her flashlight. Elsa slowly walked over, not wanting to scare off the woman. As she stepped closer she realized that the other woman had been crying.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "Why are you here at this hour?"

The other woman sniffed. "I could ask you the same."

Elsa pursed her lips at the reply. "I'm Elsa," she said instead. "I came here to watch the fireworks."

"I'm Anna," the other woman whispered, "…can I watch the fireworks with you?" she asked tentatively.

"Ah…of course you can."

Elsa made sure to walk beside Anna as they walked towards her haven. As they walked she wondered what Anna could have been doing up here all alone.

"Well, here we are."

Elsa checked her watch and noted that it was an hour until midnight. She opened her duffel bag and got out a picnic blanket, a blanket and a large thermos. She frowned at herself, thinking that she hadn't given things much thought when she packed.

After she lay down the picnic blanket she started a small fire and then turned off her flashlight. Elsa then turned towards Anna, who was admiring the city lights. Elsa could see that Anna was bundled up, her scarf wrapping snugly around her neck and covering almost half of her face, leaving only her eyes in sight. On her head was a beanie, and her hands were covered in woolen mittens. It was clear that Anna had come to the Northern Mountains wearing the right outfit, but _why _was she here?

Elsa's mind halted for a moment, and then she berated herself for obsessing on the reason why Anna was here. Why the heck was she even thinking about it? She draped the picnic blanket over the log near the fire.

"Do you want to sit?"

Anna turned around and Elsa guessed that she was smiling. Thank you," she said gratefully.

Elsa opened the thermos and poured out the hot chocolate she had prepared back home. "Hot chocolate?"

The other woman declined with a shake of her head.

As they sat in silence, Elsa sipped on her drink and pondered on what to do after the fireworks.

"I was lost," Anna confessed quietly.

Elsa didn't turn her eyes away from the city. She only nodded, knowing that the other woman could see her from her peripheral view.

"My parents…they died on these mountains," Anna continued. "It happened three years ago...it was an accident**—**an avalanche took their lives. Since then I left the city. I only came back about a month ago. I didn't have the courage to come up here until now." The woman let out a wry laugh. "I've forgotten that it darkens so quickly this time of the year, and so I got lost while wandering around."

"Same here," Elsa said. Anna tilted her head quizzically. "About the parents, I mean," she clarified. "They died in the same accident, but I've gotten over it...sort of."

Anna nodded and Elsa checked her watch again. "Quarter to midnight," she notified the other woman.

There was another moment of silence before Anna spoke again.

"I'm glad that I met you. I don't know what I'd do…I probably would have died out here, who knows?" There was a slight pause. "So thank you," Anna said.

"I just happened to be here, that's all," Elsa replied. "Any sane person would do the same if they saw you out here."

She noticed Anna shivering. "I guess your outfit isn't fit for sleeping out in the cold," she joked. "Here," she offered, holding out the blanket to her.

"I couldn't."

"Yes, you can. The cold doesn't bother me that much."

"It can't be! Regardless of your condition, we're on the mountains!" Anna sat closer to Elsa and draped the blanket over both of them. "I hope this is okay with you."

"Uh, I guess so, if it's the only way you'll take it." Elsa then checked her watch again. "Five minutes."

They stared at the city together until Elsa put out the fire. "It's almost time," she answered when Anna looked at her.

When the fireworks lit the sky, Elsa suddenly knew that 2015 would be different. For some odd reason she just knew it would be. She noticed Anna move and turned towards her, about to ask her what was wrong when warm lips gently touched upon the corner of her mouth.

"Happy New Year, Elsa," Anna said softly.

"H-Happy New Year," Elsa stammered out. "I—sorry for turning my head. You were probably aiming for my cheek."

In the moonlight Elsa saw that Anna's lips curved up into a smile. Elsa expected her to say something but she didn't. Anna turned her gaze towards the fireworks and pulled up her scarf so that her face was covered again. Not knowing what to do or what to say, Elsa stared at the fireworks too. After a while Elsa slowly smiled to herself.

Somehow, meeting Anna seemed to prove to her that this year would definitely be better.

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><p><strong>AN: I've never been to the mountains or camping or anything else related to that, so pardon if it seems illogical in some way...but that said, I hope you enjoyed it. :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimed: _Frozen _belongs to Disney.**

**A/N: I meant to post soon, but things happened. This is the end of the story, guys! Hope you'll like it :)**

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><p>Elsa didn't want to say that meeting Anna was fate—it was terribly cheesy and would make her sound like some love struck fool—but apparently she had no other words to describe it.<p>

Neither of them had said a word during the fireworks. When it ended Elsa packed up and led Anna to her cabin to rest. The woman thanked her for her hospitality, and then thanked her again when Elsa lent her clothes to sleep in. It had been a sleepless night for Elsa as she pondered on the possibilities of falling in love with a stranger within a day. She tossed and turned for the majority of the night, and now it was morning.

"Fuck!" she cursed as she stubbed her toe.

The sound of giggling behind her made her blush. "Is that your first word for the new year?"

"Yours isn't any better," Elsa grumbled stubbornly before turning to greet Anna.

Now that it was brighter than when she first met her, she realized that Anna had a lot of freckles (not that she could have seen it yesterday under that layer of clothes). In Elsa's opinion, the freckles were a big bonus because they made Anna look even cuter. Her eyes were sort of a turquoise, bluish-green color. Maybe it was teal, she wasn't sure. Her hair was done into neat, braided pig-tails; but Elsa couldn't pinpoint the hair color.

"So you're a blonde with blue eyes, huh? I think a lot of people like this combination," Anna commented with a smile.

Elsa decided to shoot in the dark. "I heard redheads are super popular right now," she replied, her heart fluttering when Anna laughed.

"I read somewhere that strawberry blonde is a combination of both blonde and redhead, so I think I would fit in. Thanks for the confidence boost."

Elsa smiled at the new information. Deep down she felt that it was sort of silly, her smiling just because she now knew the exact hair color of her cru—ahem—acquaintance. "No problem."

"It smells good in here, did you make something?"

"Oh, I made chocolate chip pancakes," Elsa answered.

"How do you have stuff stocked around this time of the year?"

"Nah, I brought the ingredients from home on impulse last night."

There was that laugh again. "What? You brought them on _impulse_?"

"Hey, be thankful," Elsa scolded playfully. "Because of my impulse you now have a nice homemade breakfast."

"Yes," the other woman said, dragging out the 's' as she sat down at the table.

"There's a jar of Nutella somewhere in that bag beside you, if you want to eat it with your pancakes."

Anna's eyes lit up. "Great! I love Nutella!" she exclaimed as she pulled the jar out.

Elsa chuckled, and as soon as she set down their plates on the table the other woman began slathering Nutella onto her pancakes.

"So…what are your plans for the day?" Elsa asked as casually as possible.

"Well, my plan is—Oh. My. God."

"What?" Elsa asked with her brows furrowed. Were the pancakes that bad?

"These are the best chocolate chip pancakes _ever_!" Anna squealed with joy.

Elsa sighed. "As you were saying?" she reminded.

"Oh! I actually don't have any plans for today. I've been staying with my friend and he's already taken me to all the so called hotspots in town."

"I see," said Elsa, trying to hide her disappointment by sipping on the new batch of hot chocolate she made this morning. Maybe she could find other things to do with Anna—if the other woman wanted to hang out.

"If I remember correctly, I'm leaving Arendelle tomorrow."

Elsa almost choked, but she managed. "I'm okay…it just went down the wrong way," she answered when Anna sent her a concerned look. "I assume your friend is driving you to the airport?"

"Unfortunately he has work, but he said he'll ask his friends. Of course, I told him not to bother and that I'd take a taxi; however, he insisted. He's the over protective sort, you know?"

"I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to take a taxi."

"And I don't see why his friends would want to waste two hours of their life to drive me to the airport. I've met some of them, but I don't think I'd want to sit beside them for that long."

The topic ended when Elsa got up to wash the plates. Anna offered to help and Elsa couldn't ignore those damn puppy eyes so she let her dry the dishes.

"Um, we should get going," Elsa said when they finished cleaning up, thinking that she should just forget about trying to have a relationship—or some sort of a resemblance to that—with Anna. She doubted that Anna thought of her in that matter anyways. "I'll accompany to your car so you don't get lost again."

"You would? Thank god, I don't want to get lost for five hours again!"

"What?" Elsa exclaimed. "You were lost for _five _hours? Alone? In the cold?"

Anna looked at her straight in the eyes and then smiled. "Everything turned out okay though, remember? Because I met you."

It was hard for Elsa to let Anna go, not after what she had just said. A voice behind the back of her head told her that maybe, just maybe, Anna felt something towards her. Another voice told her to stop fooling herself, which she agreed to.

They were practically strangers, after all.

.

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After saying an awkward goodbye to Anna and seeing her off, Elsa went back home. She fell face down onto her bed and lied there in defeat, wondering why she even thought that things would be looking up this year. The first day already sucked big time.

Her cellphone began to ring but she ignored it by covering a pillow over her head. When the phone rang for the fourth time she finally picked it up.

"What the fuck do you want, Kristoff?" she all but yelled at her phone.

"Woah, I'm sorry!" The man on the other end answered. "Look, I'm calling for a favor."

Elsa sighed heavily, knowing that she shouldn't have taken her anger out on her friend. "I'm sorry, Kristoff…I'm just having a really bad day. Can't you go ask someone else?"

"No," he said firmly. "You're the one I trust most out of everyone, that's why I'm calling you. Besides, you're not doing anything today, right?

Elsa contemplated for a moment. What Kristoff said was true, and she felt like she shouldn't mope around all day just because her crush—yes, this time she admitted it—was going to be gone forever. "Fine," she answered, "you owe me, though. Now what was it that you wanted me to do?"

"Great!" her friend said happily. "I need you to drive my friend to the airport. Meet at my place around quarter to eleven."

"Ugh, late night flight? Fine, I'll see you then."

"I promise I'll make it up to you! See you later!"

The day went by and soon Elsa found herself at the step of Kristoff's house. She was about to knock on the door, but it swung open and she was met with a familiar face.

"A-Anna—?"

"Oh, Elsa! What a surprise!"

Elsa glanced behind and saw Kristoff, standing there with a smirk. In that instant Elsa knew what had happened. She didn't know whether to love him or hate him at the moment.

"Move aside," Kristoff called out. Elsa glared at him when he went by her, and he winked in return. She unlocked the trunk and Kristoff helped Anna put her luggage in.

"Drive safe," he reminded when Elsa and Anna got in the car.

"I recall someone saying that he trusted me," Elsa replied dryly.

"Don't worry, Kristoff," said Anna with a laugh. "I trust Elsa, too!"

After they said their goodbyes, Elsa backed out of the driveway and drove towards the airport. She began to feel nervous, wondering if they would travel in silence for the next two hours. Elsa quickly glanced at Anna and found that she was staring out the window. Dread filled her heart when Anna didn't say anything during the whole drive. There were many times Elsa wanted to say something, but the silence was so thick that she gave up.

They arrived at the airport and Elsa sighed. She helped Anna move her luggage onto a cart. "Well, this is it."

Anna looked at her for a moment and then gave her a small smile. "I guess it is. Thank you for driving me, Elsa."

She was about to leave before Elsa called out to her. "Wait," she blurted out. Anna turned back and looked at her with a puzzled face.

"Can I—Can we—" Elsa felt her face heat up with embarrassment when Anna kept gazing at her.

"Yes," she said.

"What?" Elsa asked with confusion. "You don't even know what I wanted to say! _I _don't even know what I wanted to say!"

Anna fiddled with her fingers. "You might think I'm crazy but I like you, Elsa, and I want us to keep in touch."

"Oh—I l-like you, too, Anna—and I would love to keep in touch!"

The other woman smiled, this time brighter than the last one.

_Damn it, _Elsa thought. _Just wing it!_

She leaned forward and quickly pressed a kiss on the other woman's lips. It last for a few seconds before she pulled away, but to her surprise Anna surged forward and recaptured her lips. This time it lasted longer, and of course, was better.

"Keep in touch?" Anna asked after breaking the kiss.

"Definitely," breathed Elsa. "I'll ask Kristoff for your contact info. He owes me anyways."

"Right," Anna giggled. "Talk to you soon?"

Elsa nodded, and soon Anna left. Before going through the doors Anna turned around and waved at her, and she returned the gesture enthusiastically. She called Kristoff as soon as Anna was out of sight. "We need to talk, like, _now_."

"As soon as you come over," he responded with a laugh.

Maybe, just maybe she could visit Anna soon. Maybe Anna would like that. She smiled like an idiot as she recalled the kiss. The first day of the year hadn't turned so bad after all.

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><p><em>END<em>


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